If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Generator question

HI guys,

We're moving slowly along, the containers have been moved to the new property and the sound proofing of the water cooled unit works extremely well, there is only a small humming noise at the boundary fence, which is fine for me, the exhaust smoke is a different matter, but we'll see. The first batch of bio has been made, the generator warmed up to 73 deg in the container, and I have just fitted 2 temperature controlled exhaust fans to keep it down in summer.

Since the water cooled unit is on the new property I purchased a 6.6kva second hand ABLE aircooled unit to back us up on a rainy day while we're still on the old property.
The unit was used on a service truck to power tools (drills and so on) I don't think it has been run to it's higher capacity.

Now here is the question, If I plug in the charger for the battery bank, the amps go up to about 10, which is about 2.4kw roughly, as soon as I turn on the water pump or other devices, the genie struggles and shuts down. I have changed the fuel filter but no difference. I have heard that a generator is the happiest around 75% of its max capacity.

Since this particular unit may only have run a few drills and probably idled along most of the time I guess its kind off clogged up.

Is there any way to 'de-clogg' it? I was thinking along the lines of using heating fans and slowly increase the load by increasing the temperature.

Re: Generator question

Hi Jens
On low load the cylinder bores glaze up and you start losing compression and increase lubricant oil use.
Just load it up and work it hard

Originally Posted by Bueff

HI guys,

We're moving slowly along, the containers have been moved to the new property and the sound proofing of the water cooled unit works extremely well, there is only a small humming noise at the boundary fence, which is fine for me, the exhaust smoke is a different matter, but we'll see. The first batch of bio has been made, the generator warmed up to 73 deg in the container, and I have just fitted 2 temperature controlled exhaust fans to keep it down in summer.

Since the water cooled unit is on the new property I purchased a 6.6kva second hand ABLE aircooled unit to back us up on a rainy day while we're still on the old property.
The unit was used on a service truck to power tools (drills and so on) I don't think it has been run to it's higher capacity.

Now here is the question, If I plug in the charger for the battery bank, the amps go up to about 10, which is about 2.4kw roughly, as soon as I turn on the water pump or other devices, the genie struggles and shuts down. I have changed the fuel filter but no difference. I have heard that a generator is the happiest around 75% of its max capacity.

Since this particular unit may only have run a few drills and probably idled along most of the time I guess its kind off clogged up.

Is there any way to 'de-clogg' it? I was thinking along the lines of using heating fans and slowly increase the load by increasing the temperature.

Re: Generator question

Hi Jens
I would appreciate your feedback in the next year as to how the ABLE generator does. I see these on eBay for not a lot over $1k and am planning on going off grid battery when the little lady and I move to our sea change property.
These units appear wvo/bio friendly and at such a wonderful price appear an economical backup for cloudy days.
Than you and kind regards Harvey

Re: Generator question

Originally Posted by Bueff

HI guys,

We're moving slowly along, the containers have been moved to the new property and the sound proofing of the water cooled unit works extremely well, there is only a small humming noise at the boundary fence, which is fine for me, the exhaust smoke is a different matter, but we'll see. The first batch of bio has been made, the generator warmed up to 73 deg in the container, and I have just fitted 2 temperature controlled exhaust fans to keep it down in summer.

Since the water cooled unit is on the new property I purchased a 6.6kva second hand ABLE aircooled unit to back us up on a rainy day while we're still on the old property.
The unit was used on a service truck to power tools (drills and so on) I don't think it has been run to it's higher capacity.

Now here is the question, If I plug in the charger for the battery bank, the amps go up to about 10, which is about 2.4kw roughly, as soon as I turn on the water pump or other devices, the genie struggles and shuts down. I have changed the fuel filter but no difference. I have heard that a generator is the happiest around 75% of its max capacity.

Since this particular unit may only have run a few drills and probably idled along most of the time I guess its kind off clogged up.

Is there any way to 'de-clogg' it? I was thinking along the lines of using heating fans and slowly increase the load by increasing the temperature.

Any thoughts?

Thanks and have a great Friday evening!

Jens

Have you tried running the pumps without the charger running? Will the gennie run them happily? It could be a high start current causing the gennie to bog down.
Yes, using a number of loads to gradually increase the load on the engine will help.
You might also try misting water into the intake (after the air filter - wet filter material does not ignite well). It certainly helped restore power in my 300D some years ago.
I ran it at a high idle (you can do it under load so that would be better) and set the hose nozzle to a fine mist and then aimed the mist across the air inlet to the engine. Do not aim it into the inlet as excessive water in the engine can cause hydrolock. ie. piston coming up to TDC with more water above the piston, than space to occupy it. the piston stops and the crankshaft tries to keep turning, with devastating results. That said, a 3 litre engine at 2000RPM will move 3000 litres of air in a minute, so you should be able to add 1 litre of water a minute easily. Do this at your own peril, as it can cause problems if you are stupid and add too much water, too fast.
The results of water misting are greater power, cleaner combustion chambers (de-coking), and better fuel economy (from my experience)

Life is a journey, with problems to solve, lessons to learn, but most of all, experiences to enjoy.

Re: Generator question

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for your replies,

The pump is a normal pressure pump from our tank, so nothing big, 600w max, I guess. I understand that it takes um to 3 times as much for a second when it is starting up, but that shouldn't effect it too much.

I certainly will try the water spray method, and will get the heaters going next weekend.

Re: Generator question

Originally Posted by Bueff

The pump is a normal pressure pump from our tank, so nothing big, 600w max, I guess. I understand that it takes um to 3 times as much for a second when it is starting up, but that shouldn't effect it too much.
Jens

Mate you might find the pump draws way more than you think when it starts. Plug it into the generator on it's own and run it through a few cycles. You may be surprised.

I have a 6.5kVa inverter generator. It has a Eco switch. When Eco is on the engine slows down depending on the load. If I want to start something big, I always turn Eco off until everything settles down.

Re: Generator question

Jens, that pump will most likely draw 6 times that at startup typically. Very quickly drops but the inrush will kill a supply. Same issue is facing SA power consumers, get a fault and the system looses frequency stability.

Re: Generator question

Start-up current can be as bad as 10 x run current as others have pointed out. This is related to Power Factor or the ratio of Real Power (kW) to Apparent Power (kVA). If a motor is running very efficiently or has power factor correction, power factor should be close to 1.0. On start up, power factor can be as low as 0.1 for a split second.

So your 600W pump might have a start-up power of as bad as 6,000VA = 6 kVA

This is still not 6.6 kVA, so running on its own with no additional load, should be ok???